Only the Best Dads get Promoted to Pop-Pop [Guest Post]

By Lorraine

He is a PopPop for sure but he is also my better half. The guy who is my life partner, food taster, project helper and constant encourager. John is even getting more involved in my blogging endeavors and has agreed to write a guest post. I know you will enjoy a few thoughts this Father’s Day from a guys perspective.

Me

As I was thinking about Father’s Day approaching, I took notice of my coffee mug sent to me by my daughter. It read…”Only the Best Dads get Promoted to Pop-Pop”…

I was very flattered and humbled that she got it for me. You see, I haven’t always been the best dad I could have been. I tend to judge myself critically when it comes to my parenting skills. I’d like to think I made more wise choices than bad but I know I blew it many times while my children were growing up. In many ways, the memories of fatherhood have spurred a myriad of emotions in me. I remember my feelings of joy, excitement and anticipation as well as concern, uncertainty and even anger as I parented through their childhood years.

Soon that season of life passed and my sweet girls grew to adulthood. They have since left the nest and started families of their own. I now find myself on a different path. This path, called Pop-Pop, is quite different. Not surprisingly, it requires a lot less responsibility from day to day. It is a role however that can forever shape the minds and hearts of all those who call me by that name. God has blessed me with thirteen cherubs that call me Pop-Pop. The youngest crawls onto my lap for tickles and the oldest stands beside me, strong and tall as he completes his first year of college.

It is difficult to grasp how life passes so quickly but as Jesus said in John 4:14…you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. That is a very sobering thought but true as I’m in the here and now living it. How can it be that I have lived more years than I have left. Just the realization of that fact sparks a passionate desire in me to interact as often as I can with each of my grandchildren. I want them to know how much I care about them, love them and enjoy them.

Me (looking silly), my paternal Grandpop and my brother

As I process these thoughts, I think again of my younger days when both of my grandpops were living. They left me with many fond memories of them. Life was much different then, much slower paced with almost no technological advances as today (remember when television had only 3 channels? 😳). They both were gentle and loving toward me and I never doubted their love for me. Now, with God’s help, my desire is to give my grandchildren memories of me having the same closeness and interaction in their lives. I want them to remember me as kind, gentle and loving. For that to happen I need to be intentional in what I think, what I say and what I do when I’m around them.

My maternal Grandpop

Sharing my thoughts on a topic like this is not easy. My hope is that, as you are reading this, you don’t get the sense that I am unaware of those who haven’t had the same relationship with their grandfathers. Life’s journey can be so different for each of us.

As I wrap up my thoughts, I hope to continue in a way that enhances the relationship I have with my grandchildren. Every time I am with them, my influence and wisdom has the awesome potential of making them a better person in their life’s journey. I hope they will see in me a dependence on the Lord to teach me and change me as I can then point the way to the One who loves them more then I.

Comments

Thank you for this beautiful post from your heart. I never knew my grandfathers – both were gone young, before I knew them. My heart longed for a grandfather and then, one day, God gave me the most gracious, Godly grandfather when I married my sweetheart. Grandpa S.loved me as his own and taught me things as a young bride that helped me transition to the new life that had brought me to his family. Now my sweetheart is the Grandpa S.and he follows in his grandfather's footsteps. Belated Father's Day greetings to you. You have a beautiful family and I love stopping by to share them with you and your dear wife.~Adrienne~